Civil Engineering, Sustainability, and the Future
What is sustainability in civil engineering?
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), sustainability is a set of economic,
environmental, and social conditions (aka "The Triple Bottom Line") in which all of society has the capacity
and opportunity to maintain and improve its quality of life indefinitely without degrading the quantity, quality
or the availability of economic, environmental and social resources.
ASCE supports the following steps to achieve a sustainable project:
∙ Perform Life Cycle Assessment from Planning to Reuse.
∙ Use Resources Wisely.
∙ Plan for Resiliency.
∙ Validate Application of Principles.
Civil engineers shall be committed to the following ASCE Principles of Sustainable Development:
Principle 1 – Do the Right Project
Principle 2 – Do the Project Right
THE 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG’s) SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
• is the philosophy of designing physical objects and services to comply with the principles of social,
economic, and ecological sustainability
• Reduces the negative impact on the environment and human health, thus improving the performance
during a building’s life cycle
• Careful consideration is given to water, energy, building, materials, and solid waste.
Principles of Sustainable Design
• Use sustainable materials
• Properly dispose of materials
• Recycle water
• Make use of other power sources
• Increase green space in your project
What is sustainability in civil engineering?
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), sustainability is a set of economic,
environmental, and social conditions (aka "The Triple Bottom Line") in which all of society has the capacity
and opportunity to maintain and improve its quality of life indefinitely without degrading the quantity, quality
or the availability of economic, environmental and social resources.
ASCE supports the following steps to achieve a sustainable project:
∙ Perform Life Cycle Assessment from Planning to Reuse.
∙ Use Resources Wisely.
∙ Plan for Resiliency.
∙ Validate Application of Principles.
Civil engineers shall be committed to the following ASCE Principles of Sustainable Development:
Principle 1 – Do the Right Project
Principle 2 – Do the Project Right
THE 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG’s) SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
• is the philosophy of designing physical objects and services to comply with the principles of social,
economic, and ecological sustainability
• Reduces the negative impact on the environment and human health, thus improving the performance
during a building’s life cycle
• Careful consideration is given to water, energy, building, materials, and solid waste.
Principles of Sustainable Design
• Use sustainable materials
• Properly dispose of materials
• Recycle water
• Make use of other power sources
• Increase green space in your project
